


Alone, Together

by Kazimir



Category: One Piece
Genre: Angst and Feels, Angst with a Happy Ending, Blankets, Depression, Domestic Fluff, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Friendship/Love, Gen, Gender-neutral Reader, Light Angst, Mood Swings, Platonic Romance, Resolved Argument Prompt Exchange, Tea
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-17
Updated: 2019-04-17
Packaged: 2020-01-15 08:56:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,907
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18495625
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kazimir/pseuds/Kazimir
Summary: Following his escape from Kaido's imprisonment, Eustass Kid is stuck aboard his ship for a long voyage with his only remaining crew member, you, but can you bring the devastated Captain back to his old self following the betrayal of his closest friends?





	Alone, Together

**Author's Note:**

> Wow! This is the first fanfiction I've posted in over a year, where does the time go?  
> This is actually an appropriated from a short story I wrote for a school project, in which one of the main characters was inspired by Eustass, so (given the very little screen time he's gotten in the anime so far) I hope I was able to characterize him properly, especially in a situation involving more emotional depth than we've seen from him thus far.  
> Critiques are always welcome! Enjoy!

The sea air was warm with the bright morning sun that shone high in the Eastern sky. As far as you could see, the sky was as blue and clear as the ocean below you. The wood of the old ship creaked slightly as you leaned on the railing of the bow, which was in a slight state of disrepair following the capture of Captain Kid by Kaido and subsequent disappearance of the Kid Pirates. It was the second week of your voyage together, a two to three-month journey at sea the two of you were taking to find a way to regroup in our new circumstances and to recover from the cruelty of the King of the Beasts. 

Even from your place on deck, you could hear Eustass in his workshop fixing whatever weapons or equipment he could get his hands on, reminding you of days gone by where the noise of his welding, wrenching, and hammering could be heard over the din of the rest of the crew on the cool evenings that you would sit around on deck with a book and a warm blanket to wind down. It had always been a rule to leave him alone while he was in his workshop, lest you endure the infamous fiery temper of the tall, red-haired young man. The only other person who could enter the workshop was boyhood friend of the Captain, Killer, but he’s still nowhere to be found, and you had begun to assume the worst – betrayal. 

Despite the countless new crew members who had paid dearly for disturbing him in the past, you wondered down below deck and followed the smell of metal, gunpowder and smoke almost mechanically, in part due to loneliness – having practically been ignored while handling the pressure of the responsibilities of a whole crew to keep the ship running properly – and otherwise due to concern – due to the quiet, brooding, isolated mood of the one person you shared the ship with. Mere months ago, Eustass Kid was a man who spoke with a voice loud enough to be heard across an entire deck, who intimidated low-level marines and rookie pirate crews alike with his absolute confidence in himself and his crew, and who was known to kill men who so much as looked at him wrong. This huge ego and temper to back it up was what had made you insistent about following him in his dream to find One Piece and become Pirate King, but now it felt as though you were on a ship with a man you barely knew anymore. You approached the workshop, weary of confrontation. 

“Captain?” You opened the door but received no reaction. “Captain Kid!” You said louder. Finally, he removed his signature protective goggles and turned to you, grunting a lazy acknowledgement. Your heart sunk a little at seeing his low spirit, unable to remember a time where he would pick silence over conflict. You inquired as to how long he had been working, the bags under his eyes and slump in his shoulders indicating he hadn’t slept. As concern replaced your fear you entered the room fully and observed his repair work thoroughly, as impressed as always by his eye for detail and fine workmanship, even despite his exhaustion and duress. You insisted he take a break as gently as you could, aware of his resentment at being given orders. He looked hesitant but seemed to lack the constitution to argue. 

“Right.” He muttered simply as he stood to his full height, towering over you easily in the brightly lit room, the inside of which you had never seen the full extent of before now, and following you to your favourite spot on deck. You admired the sun on his usually pale skin, made whiter still by the time he spent in a cell. Despite the fatigue, you were sure that you saw at least a fraction of the defiance and sharpness that had attracted you to his crew originally in his mean looking, amber eyes as you sat together in silence, and you tried to search for words that might raise his spirits, but could find none. At that moment, you wished you could express all the reasons why you decided to stay by his side, and why he was the only captain you would ever want to work under, but the worry that such sentiments may only place more weight on his shoulders whirled in your head. 

You quietly told him you would be back, leaving the moody Eustass Kid sitting alone on the nicest spot on deck. Minutes later, returning with a hot cup of tea in one hand and a blanket in the other, you ignored his grumbling as you reached over his shoulder to hand him the tea and took a step back to drape the blanket over him. 

“What are you doing?” The man in front of you mumbled, furrowing his brows as he looked back. 

You explained the benefits of the tea to the tired man, rambling on warmly and he sipped, and mentioning the cool breeze in the air and the fact that he had forgotten to put on his usual jacket before coming above deck. Eventually you looked beside you as you were interrupted by the thump of an empty cup on the wooden deck, and the Captain stood up wordlessly, shuffling back to his workshop, leaving you alone once again. A frown threatened to tug at your features once he was out of sight, but inside you knew that your determination – maybe desperation - to see to him back to his old self would not diminish until you had achieved your goal. 

Later, as the sun began to set in the clear sky, you found yourself in the kitchen finishing up the carefully prepared food that you knew to be Kid’s favourite - cabbage rolls. Carrying the plated dinner up to the deck, you couldn’t help but admire the cozy scene you had made for the two of you, a thick blanket on the ground to sit on with a candle in the middle in an opulent holder that the crew had looted over a year ago and that you had insisted upon keeping. Setting the plates down, you took a few steps to the top of the stairs leading to the lower deck and shouted to your Captain that dinner was ready. You knew that you only had to yell once, as even in his depressed state Kid’s appetite would always be the biggest that you had ever seen. Sitting in your place, you saw him appear, looking more tired but moving quicker than he had earlier and taking his seat across from you silently. Seeing that the blanket from earlier was still draped around his shoulders brightened your features. Chirping on with your best attempt at casual rambling as he ate, he stared at you piercingly, saying nothing. Tense under his gaze, you fidgeted and continued, coming to compliment him on how he looked with the blanket around his shoulders while he sat on deck eating his dinner, rather cute, in your opinion. 

“Enough already!” Eustass bellowed with his gruff voice, and the harsh look in his tired eyes forced the sweet smile you were wearing away. He stood to loom over you and threw his empty plate, smashing it on the foremast with force. Looking back down to you with those amber eyes. “These whole two weeks you’ve been treating me like some pet, when the fuck did you learn it was okay to talk to your Captain like that? If you were anybody else, I’d have thrown you off this fucking ship by now! If you don’t respect me, you should have left like everybody else!” He snarled, continuing. “I’d rather be alone on this damned ship than be condescended to by the likes of you.” You stood as well, feeling tears threatening to fall from your eyes. Following two weeks of repressed emotion - practically being isolated at sea coupled with the uncertainty of the the possible abandonment of your fellow crew members, you couldn't help but respond in kind to the harsh words of that man you had practically started your life anew for. 

“Do you think I would have stayed alone on a ship with someone like you if I wasn’t committed to you?" Kid's anger faded somewhat in the face of the shock caused by your words, and you stared into his eyes, though unable to be as cold as you had wanted to be at the sight of the tired, upset man who you so admired. "I believed in you," You began. "and I might be the only person who still believes in you now, and my reward is being ignored by some broody bastard I can barely recognize anymore." A tense moment passed silently, before the Captain flickered his eyes away from you, too intelligent to not understand, but too stubborn to acknowledge that he did. 

“I see.” He said gently, clearing his throat after. “Clean that up before somebody steps on it.” He commanded loudly, gesturing to the plate he threw. 

“We’re the only two people on board.” You reminded him quietly. 

“Clean that up before I step on it.” He turned. “I’ll be in my workshop…” He paused. “Come down later.” 

After cleaning the deck on the Captain’s orders, you found yourself once again at the ajar door of his workshop. Opening the door gently, you approached the muscular man in his seat and hovered around his working figure. 

“Come here.” He said as he stood from his chair and gestured for you to take his place. You sat apprehensively as he rummaged around the room, which you noticed was neater than it had been earlier in the day. Suddenly, he tossed a large gun into your lap and beamed proudly as your eyes fell to examine the object in your hands. “I know, impressive, right?” He smirked. You smiled silently as you held the piece in your hands, unable to understand what was different about the musket, never having the eye for weapons and workmanship that Eustass was known for. Luckily, he continued before you had the chance to interject, explaining the new functions and additions arrogantly, your heart warming at the sight of the Captain back to his old cocky self, his loud, energetic voice was a welcomed sound in your ears. After intently listening to his exhilarated explanation of the gun, you tried to hand it back, half-worried of somehow damaging the fine engravings he had embellished the sides with. Kid shoved the musket into your chest as he averted his eyes awkwardly. 

“As my new first mate,” He said softly as his cheeks flushed slightly. “it’s only right that you fight with something nice. I’ll make sure you know how to use it properly by the time we get to a new island.” As the night carried on, tensions dissipated, the loud combination of Captain Kid and your laughs grew softer and your conversation gentler as the weariness of the cool night enveloped you both. Once the sea was lit only by the light of the stars, you ventured up to the deck to collect the blankets from dinner and sat looking into the endless expanse of ocean around the ship. Eventually, you drifted into deep sleeps beside each other, hopeful for what the future held.


End file.
